Organic farming of wheat and sourdough quality

Breeding Bread-Making Wheat Varieties for Organic Farming Systems: The Need to Target Productivity, Robustness, Resource Use Efficiency and Grain Quality Traits

“…In contrast, the organic wheat breeding effort has focused more on improving processing quality parameters, including suitability for stone milling, whole grain flour and slow fermentation/sourdough-based bread making processes, mainly because awareness about the benefits of wholegrain consumption and demand for wholegrain products with high sensory and nutritional quality is thought to be higher and rapidly increasing among organic consumers [ 57 , 63 ]. However, most early stage physiological/biochemical markers (e.g., crude protein, Hagberg Falling Number—an indicator of α-amylase activity, specific weight and protein/gluten profiles) were calibrated against the quality of wheat products made from conventionally produced, refined grain/white flour and are therefore thought to be of limited use for the selection of organic varieties suitable for processing into wholegrain products [ 32 , 57 , 64 ]. The testing protocols developed/used (by organizations such as the Breadlab at Washington State University, USA) to assess whole grain and long-fermentation/sourdough bread-making quality therefore have little in common with those testing protocols used in short fermentation large-scale commercial baking (e.g., the Chorleywood Process).…”

“…In contrast, there is a higher demand for wholegrain cereal products and in particular wheat grain that has high bread-making quality from wholegrain and stone-ground flour [ 63 ] and wheat varieties suitable for long fermentation (sour dough-type) breadmaking processes [ 64 ]. The higher demand is thought to result from greater awareness among organic consumers about the nutritional/health benefits linked to wholegrain products and sourdough bread consumption [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ].…”